The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. There were two classes in Washington, D.C., four canning demos across three counties, and a visit from my sister and her touring partner Becca. I’ve logged about 1,000 miles on the road and have canned my way through a bushel of pears. It has been good and it has been intense. I have one more crazy weekend coming up, and then things are going to quiet down a bit (and I couldn’t be more pleased). Now, links!
- Swimming in kale? Try this kale and pumpkin seed pesto. It’s certain to freeze beautifully.
- Fig season is long gone in Philly, but I’m remembering this fig and honey jam for next year.
- Cold and flu season is coming! Amanda has some serious fermented goodness for you to ward off any seasonal bugs.
- The folks at Rancho Gordo have discovered the goodness that is pressure canned beans. I try to always have a batch of these in my pantry.
- Don’t throw away those apple peels! Make vinegar instead.
- Maple chipotle sauce. Sounds like the perfect thing for turkey burgers.
- Grape mostarda. It is amazing stuff.
- Camille at Wayward Spark has been documenting her food preservation all season long. Latest installments have included sweet pepper romesco sauce and grape jelly. Love it!
- I am deeply intrigued by this black onion jam.
- Pear chutney. It’s a great thing to have on the pantry shelf. Make it.
- Finally, this one doesn’t have anything to do with food preservation, but appeals to my potluck habit. Pasta for a crowd.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter the lid wand giveaway and shared their bargain stories with me. They were fun to read! The winners are…
Marisa, do you have any opinions on the food safety of direct canning the dried beans like that? If it works, it will be the answer to many, many of my prayers.
I’m not Marisa (obvs) but I have pressure canned beans .. never with oil though. This is the method I use. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_peas_shelled.html
Generally, I fill the jar 3/4 with soaked beans and top off to headspace with water. Works beautifully. Some beans soak up more water than others so you’ll have to find what works best for you.
Thanks for your reply Jeni.
I have been planning to can some beans, using the NCHFP guidelines, but I would ten times rather not soak and pre-cook. So the instructions linked here (there are lots of oil-free versions online as well) are super enticing.
But, I am also hyper-paranoid about food safety….
Thanks for linking, Marisa! I’m pretty excited about a healthy, ferment-full winter!
And that pumpkin seed pesto looks amazing!
Love the links! Thanks for sharing them.